Features

Chill Savings

by Mindy Pennybacker | Aug 29, 2012

Reefer madness: Got an old, energy hog refrigerator sucking money out of your budget? If you replace it with an efficient, Energy Star model (bought between July 1 and Sept. 30), and have the old fridge taken away for recycling, you can get a $125 rebate check from Hawaii Energy’s “Trade Up for Cool Cash” program.

There’s also a secondary “Bounty” program in which you can get an extra old fridge hauled away for free and get paid $25 in cash.

Old fridges are recycled, on Oahu, by Refrigerant Recycling, Inc.Since spring of 2010, it has recycled “approximately 9,500 refrigerators and freezers. This has netted 300 tons of metals, 8,300 pounds of refrigerant and 9,500 quarts of oil.

It is estimated that over 7,828,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity and approximately $2,504,960 in electricity costs have been saved,” Hawaii Energy reports.

Timing is of the essence. It’s first come, first serve until the money runs out. Remember, to qualify, you must have bought an Energy Star fridge before Sept. 30, and had the old one carted off by a participating hauler. The person whose name is on the electric bill gets the check.

They say to wait six to eight weeks for the rebate. You ought to start seeing a lower energy bill before then.